CHAPTER 68: CHAPTER 65: A STRANGE LITTLE VILLAGE (2)

As soon as the masked man closed the room’s door behind him, his body collapsed to the ground immediately.

He tried to lift his hand and failed. He even tried to crawl and failed at that as well.

The purple light surged out of his eye with force, slipping between his fingers as he tried to cover it.

He pressed his palm tightly over his eye in a desperate attempt to stop it, but the glow intensified until mist began to seep from his skin.

From between his fingers, from his shoulders, from every tiny crack in his body.

Parts of him even lost their shape entirely, turning into wavering patches of mist that dissolved and reformed.

Then, right in front of him, the drifting mist twisted, shrinking and stretching until it formed the shape of a tall figure.

A wide black cloak hid its body, a hood concealed its face completely, and the hem of the cloak rippled despite the absence of any breeze in the room.

The shape was an exact replica of the mythical creature he had killed only days earlier.

It spoke.

"It seems you’re going through a tough time, Mythical Creatures Hunter."

It carried the same tone as the prince, not the creature’s voice, which had been an unsettling mixture of many voices blending together.

The masked man lifted his head with difficulty, his eyes flashing purple.

"Did I not kill you already?"

The figure leaned forward slightly, as if smiling beneath the hood.

"Yes, and you stole my magic."

"Then how are you standing in front of me now? Are you looking to die again?"

The masked hunter tried to raise his gun toward him, but he collapsed once more to the ground.

The creature glided toward him with slow, almost floating steps.

It stood before him, and the masked hunter accidentally dropped his gun again.

"Calm down, Mythical Creatures Hunter. In your condition, I doubt you can even harm me."

The masked man reached for the gun again, grabbed it, and lifted it with a trembling hand, pointing the barrel at the creature.

"How did you return to life?"

"Simply put, you possess my magic. And there is dark magic of the same type polluting this village. With these factors combined, I was able to appear before you."

"And is something like that even possible?"

"No. Or so I believed. Just as I believed no human could steal the powers of a single mythical creature, let alone several. Yet you did it. And you are still breathing. That alone is a mystery more intriguing than my appearance, is it not?"

The masked man clung to the wall and barely managed to stand, mist pouring from every part of his body.

"So you are saying you came back because of me?"

"Technically yes. But do not expect gratitude. You are the one who erased me."

The masked man raised his hand and pulled the trigger.

The bullet passed through the creature’s body, hitting the wall behind it.

The cloak did not move. Nothing happened to the being standing before him.

The masked man stood there for a moment, then slowly raised his head toward the creature, both eyes glowing with growing purple light.

"You are nothing but something inside my head, aren’t you?"

"You could say that, Mythical Creatures Hunter. After all, you erased my physical existence entirely, did you not?"

The masked man raised his head further, mist curling from his skin.

"And you appear before me again? Stay dead where you belong. What do you want from me now?"

The creature let out a soft laugh and tilted its head slightly.

"You interest me, hunter."

"I have heard that from many of your kind before they died."

"Which is why you interest me even more. How about a deal?"

The masked man narrowed his eyes, his grip tightening on the gun, the purple light growing harsher.

"Can you even make a deal in this pathetic state?"

"Not a soul pact, no. But we can rely on trust between us. And as a sign of trust, I will be the first to act."

"Trust? I do not trust you or any of your kind."

The creature glanced directly at the mist swirling around the hunter’s body, then moved one step closer without making a sound.

"But you need me. Or would you prefer to remain like this? I doubt you can defeat the Autumn Spirit alone. You will collapse before you begin."

The masked man’s eyes narrowed.

"What do you want?"

"I am a curious being, and now I am deeply interested in you. I simply want to understand."

"Understand what exactly?"

"I want to understand what you are."

The masked hunter frowned, the glow in his eye intensifying. His joints trembled and the mist thickened around him.

"Like your attempts to understand humans? I do not think you are in any condition to do anything to me now. You no longer have your domain nor the power that shreds whoever enters it."

"As you said, I cannot do that anymore. My existence is limited, bound to remnants of magic lingering in this place. When it fades, I will fade with it."

The masked man took a deep breath.

"Back to the main point. What exactly do you want from me?"

"A simple answer. What are you?

You are supposed to be human, yet you resemble no human. And you are not a mythical creature. Nor a hybrid, since they cannot do what you do to your body. At this stage, with the amount of magic you hold, are you even human?"

The masked hunter froze. The mist thickened, and his hands trembled uncontrollably.

"What will you offer in return?"

The creature stepped closer until only an arm’s length separated them, though its form remained faint.

"I will help you control my magic.

Is it not obvious that this is exactly what you need now?"

At first the masked man wanted to refuse.

He clenched his teeth, raised the gun slightly, but the purple light surging from his eye intensified.

The mist poured faster from his skin.

In the end, he had to relent.

"Do it now."

The creature lifted its head slightly, as if smiling beneath the massive hood.

"First, take a very deep breath."

"Are you joking with me?"

"Just do as I said."

He had no other choice. He took a very deep breath.

"What is the next step?"

"That is all."

The masked man stared sharply at him.

"I did not know dead mythical creatures liked jokes."

He reached into his bag quickly, pulled out one of those small glass vials filled with a glowing green liquid.

He uncorked it with his teeth and drank its contents in one gulp.

A faint green light began to coil around the edges of his body.

"Why have you not disappeared in front of me yet?"

"I did not lie to you nor joke with you, Mythical Creatures Hunter. All you must do is relax."

He tossed the vial back into the bag without care.

"You want me to relax?"

"Yes. It is that simple. You are overthinking everything, and that is why your magic is unstable."

The masked man exhaled slowly.

His strength left him gradually, so he lay down on the ground, placed his arm under his head, closed his eyes, and took another breath.

Then the room vanished.

The walls dissolved into thick fog.

The sounds of the world faded until silence swallowed everything.

A vague human shape appeared before him, inside the fog.

The features were not clear, but the masked man recognized him instantly.

He inhaled deeply and lifted his head.

"We will meet again soon, Master. But first, I must finish what you started."

At that final word, the fog vanished immediately.

The scene dissolved, and the room returned to its normal form.

Standing by the door was the mythical creature, watching him.

"How are you now, Mythical Creatures Hunter?"

The masked man sat up and wiped his face.

"I am what I am."

"And what is that exactly?"

"The answer to your question."

The creature paused for a moment.

"I think that is a strange answer, but it satisfies me. Thank you, Auren."

Before he could respond, the creature’s body shattered into black mist and vanished.

The masked man stared at the empty space it had disappeared from, eyes wide, muttering, "I knew I should never trust any of you."

He stood, brushed the dust off his coat, and his eye returned to its calm blue color.

He approached the door and opened it, only for Oliver and Lemur to fall directly at his feet, rolling on the floor.

Tale fell on top of them with her hands raised awkwardly.

The masked man stopped, looked at them in silence for a long moment, then let out an extremely long exhale.